Improvement in icast-iron turn-table for railways



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ANDREW JACKSON WIEHT AND-WILLIAM -LEwls MEEKEE, or NEWARK,

\ NEW JERSEY. ,M

i Letters Patent No. 104,388, datelZJ-zme 14, 1870.

, l. IMPRVEMENT IN iCAST-IRON' TURN-TABLE 'FO RAILWAYS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent making part of the same. v

To 'all whom Vit 'may concern;

` Be itknown thatwe,`AND REW JACKSON W'IGHT and WILLAM Lnwrs MEEKEE, both of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have Invented a newand, improved Cast-iron Turn-Table i for Railroads; and we do `hereby declare that'the fol# `lowing is afull, clear, and exact descriptionof-thc saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawingmaking a part ofthis specification, inwh'ich- Figure -l is a plan or top viewof our invention. Figure 2, a side View oi' the same. d Figure 3, alongitudinal vertical section of the same, taken through the center.`

Fignreili., a transverse vertical sectiouof l'the same, 'taken in the line :v :r'tig. 2. i

Similar letters of `reference indicate corresponding partsin the'several figures. p Thisinrention relates to a new and improved castironthrn-table for railroads; and

h It consistsin a peculiarity of construction, as hcrelnafter fully shown and described, whereby several advanta'gesare obtained, to wit, economy in construction `and fitting up for use,strength, and durability,

and facility of adjustment` in case-of gettingV out of a Vproper horzontalpos'ition. 1 l i To 'enable `those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct onr invention, we will proceed to describe it. The main portion, or body A of the turn-table-is composed of 'four castings, cra a a, each side having two equal parts, a a, the inner ends o f which abut against each other, and are secured in contact lby wrought-iron 'straps b, which are of4 oval form and fitted over `lugs c, the latter being cast with and projecting `fromthejouter surfaces of the parts a of the side of the body A. z

p i Each partial has one-half of an oval lug cast with it at its inner end near its upper edge, so that the lugs of the two parts a a, at each side ofthe body A, when in contact, form aV laterally projecting oval to receive jthe strap b, the latter being fitted on the former while hiet, so that the straps will shrink in cooling, fit snugly,

and maire a secure connection. Y p

The upper surfaces or edges of the two parts a a of the' sides are,V when thus secured in contact, in the same plane, and the lower edges are curved and form a segment of an `ellipse o`r` circle, as shown in fig. 2,

thewidestor deepest portion of said 'segments being at the inner and abuting ends of the castings.

B represents a central casting composed of two vertic'al plates dd,` and a horizontal connectingplate e,

said parts beingall cast `in fonc piece, `the vertical plates being` castwith openings 7"y to` obtain lightness,

and also cast-with recesses at their edges to receive projections gon the inner surfaces of the partsva, as shown in iig. 4. i

. 'lhetwo sides of the body A are secured to two op'- posite sides of the central casting B by transverse bolts@ and 'through said sides bolts D pass, which extend through tubular shafts g", placed between the two sides. By this means the parallelism of the-two sides of the turn-table is preserved.

From the inner surfaces of the two partis a cof the sides ofthe turn-table lugs h. project, through which y keys c' pass, to retain said parts in line, orin the same plane with each other. (See iig. 3.) I

The projections g, at the inner surfaces of the partsa, in consequence oftting in recesses inthe plates d l of thecasting B, prevent any vertical movement of the parts a, and the latter are cast with openings 7' in order to obtain lightness.

E represents a plate of cast iron, which is fitted in the space formed by the sides of the turn-table, and the verticalplates d al of the central casting B.

In the center of the undersurfaceof this plate there is a concave, 7a, which has a case-hardened surf face in order to resist wear, and this concave -rests i upon a hardened steel 'semi-sphere, Z, on the upper end of a stem, m, which is iitted in the upper part of a cast-iron support, F, the latter being firmly secured at the center of a bed of masonry, over which the `turn-table isiittcd and works.

' flhe lower end ofthe stem mrrests upon a steel ring, u, in the support, and the steel ring rests upon a brass or composition one, o, (see iig. 3.) The under surface of the semi-sphere l does not come in contact withthe uppe'r end of the support F. By this arrangement friction and wear and tear are avoided.

'lhe plate E is connected by bolts G to the horizontal plate c of the'centralcasting B, and by turning th'e nuts p of said bolts the turn-table may be raised or lowered bodily or adjusted as required to keep it in sphere l, as shown in fig. 3, and a requisite quantity of oil maybe put into the recess which receives the stern m of the semi-sphere.

i In order to prevent the outer ends ofthe parts a of the sides of the turn-table from breaking under lthe concussione and .jars occasioned by a locomotive passing ou them, we'have a transverse bar, H, placed thereon, said bar resting on India-rubber cushions I, which are fitted in recesses inthe upper surfaces ot' the parts a, (see Iig. 3.) I

This bar H has a wheel, J, on each end of it, and these wheels work ou an annular way or track ou the bed over which the turn-table is placed and works.

The transverse bar H, resting on the cushions I, eltectually breaks the jars and concussione which would inevitable occur by the passage of a locomotive and tender on the ways of the turn-table.

The weight of a locomotive is very great, from twenty-five to fifty tons, and in some instances greater. This immense weight would, unless some provision were made to obviate jars and concussions, fracture the castings a nea-r their outer ends, where they are comparatively of little depth.

'lhe turn-table may be operated or turned with-the greatest facility, there being but little friction to contend with, and, in order to keep the table level, all that is required is simply to adjust or turn the nuts p of the bolts G. It will be seen, therefore, that but little care and attention aref required to keep the table in proper working order.

We do not claim, broadly', an iron turn-table, nor constructing an iron turn-table of several parts secured togetherby fastenings irrrespcctive of the particular fastenings and the mode of construction hereinshown and described; but

Having` thus described our invention,

What Wefdo claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Connecting the parts a a a a, composing the sides of -the tum-table, by means of the oval straps or bands b, of wrought-iron, fitted vover lugs or projections c,'cast on the outer surfaces of the parts a, in combination with the central casting B, constructed as shown, with the two vertical plates d d, and the horizontal plate c, all .cast in one piece, together with the bolts C D, for securing the castings a to the centerpiece B, and securing the former at the proper distance apart, substantially as shown and described. l

2. The keys t, passing through lugs h at the inner sides of the parts a, in combination with the projec-r tions g; also, at the inner sides of the parts a, and fitting in recesses in the vertical plates d d,of the central casting B, for the purpose of retaining said parts (t in proper position, as set fort-h.

ANDREW JACKSON WIGHT. WILLIAM LEWIS MEEKER.'

' Witnesses:

ARAM G. Santas, SAMUEL S. CLAYTON. 

